Altered
by The Little Infinities
Summary: AU. Annabeth Chase considers herself to be a pretty normal girl. That is, until the day the riff-raff kids show up at her door claiming she's not quite mortal. Who does this guy, Percy Jackson, think he is? And why is he so cocky? Follow our very own daughter of Athena as she navigates herself through a world that is completely and utterly alien to her- and to us, as well.
1. Chapter 1

Look, I never asked for any of this.

I never asked to be born the way I was.

I never wanted to be a demigod.

If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice to you is to close this window ASAP. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth. Try to lead a normal life.

Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways. If you're just some normal kid, great. Think this is fiction? Keep on reading.

But if you recognize yourself in these pages-if you feel something stirring inside-stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you. Don't say I didn't warn you.

My name is Annabeth Chase.

I'm fourteen years old. Until about a month ago, I was just a normal student at a normal school in a normal town in my normal state of normal Pennsylvania. I was in honors classes, straight A's, labeled a teacher's pet. Dyslexic and ADHD, but I never let that get in the way. I fought it as hard as I could. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a struggle.

It happened the night of my school spelling bee at Conestoga High School. I had just started freshmann year and we were about a month in, things were going pretty well. I didn't have many friends, only one or two, but it didn't matter very much. I was focused on my grades- my education, my future. I wanted to enroll in a great college. I wanted to be an architect.

A lot of that was me being influenced by my step-mother, who was basically the most intelligent woman and mathematician in the world. Annoying? Yeah, definitely. Strict? Check. She made sure that everything I wore was conservative and proper. Not that I had a problem with that, but at fourteen, my self-confidence wasn't the best, and I really wanted to be myself.

I had been on the bus ride home, chatting with Abha Soomro. She was a pretty Indian girl with warm brown eyes, silky black hair that I envied, and skin the color of chocolate. She was also on the high honor roll, one of the most brilliant students in the entire school. Snobby and coming from a wealthy family, she didn't have the best personality. But it was a lot easier to talk to her instead of the bumbling idiots I called my peers.

"So, did you do your Living Environments homework yet? I started right away in study hall. I just love how the Punnett squares work, they're definitely one of my favorite subjects. Number five was relatively easy. Dominant T allele produces a tall phenotype, homozygous recessive obviously produces a-"

"Yeah, yeah." I said with a wave of my hand. "You don't have to prove to me how smart you are, braniac. I got that message a_ long _time ago." She scoffed at me. To show her that I had only been joking, I flashed what I hoped was a cheeky grin. "And to be fair, I'm pretty sure Punnett Squares are _my_ area of expertise."

"Then what's mine?" she asked, pulling her mouth into a tight scowl. I laughed. "English, obviously. Seriously, Abha. It's your second language and you still know it better than I do."

"Well, to be fair, that's only because you're dyslexic." she said, showing me one of her rare moments of generosity. "And I honestly do think you're too hard on yourself, Anna. You should try to be a little kinde-"

That's when the bus came to a halting stop, and I saw that we were at my house. 31 Riverside Drive. A comfortable ranch house with a dark roof and a pretty garden in the front. (Maintened by my step-mother. She's such a green thumb. Anything I touch withers away.)

"I'll see you tomorrow, Abha." I said, my usual catchphrase.

"Actually," she pointedly smiled. "you'll see me tonight, at the spelling bee. Where I'll be sure to whoop your butt."

"You're on." I replied coolly.

**ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ**

"So what'd you learn today, Beth?" my father asked, waltzing into the kitchen. I was sitting at the table and struggling with my English homework.

"Nothing new," I replied without looking up from my paper. "It was basically the same as always. Abha showing off. David from period two throwing pencils in my hair. Failing gym class."

"You aren't actually failing gym class, are you?" my dad interrogated. He swung open the fridge with one lanky arm and grabbed an orange, proceeding to sit across from me at the table.

My heart kind of dropped when he neglected that second part, but I brushed it off. You'd think a dad would care a little more about his only daughter.

"No. I was just kidding. You wouldn't even have to show up for gym to do well. I don't think they even bother to take attendance anymore. They really don't care about the students."

"Well you better not be skipping that class, if that's what you're implying. I won't have my daughter go galavanting around town, acting like some sort of bad girl. I know you might think that's cool, but I raised you better, and you should know that the most important thing is doing well."

I nodded incessantly, trying to get it through his thick skull that my grades were all I cared about.

He was going to continue his tangent until my step-mother Linda walked in. She glanced at me before turning to my father and saying, "Frederick. Some kids at the door, teenagers. Say they're looking for Annabeth. They look a bit like riff-raff. I told them I'd go get her."

My dad looked at me cautiously.

"Say, Beth, you mentioned the other day you had a new friend. You haven't been hanging out with those class-skippers, have you?"

"No. I told you, my friend is Abha Soomro. She's the most brilliant girl in my classes." I reassured him. "Not a class-skipper. I don't know who could possibly be at the door."

I rose from my chair and jogged over to the main entrance of the house. The door was slightly open, and I could hear bickering coming from outside.

"It's not my fault you're such an idiot. I told you, you could have disarmed that empousa with the Omega attack we learned in swords the other day. But no, you had to notch your damned arrows." A guy's voice, deep.

"Well excuse me, but not all of us are the best swordsfighter in camp, you know. And I'm cabin seven. Of course I used arrows-"

That's when I couldn't take it anymore. I opened the door and came face-to-face with two teenagers.

The girl was about my height. She was a redhead, the kind of red that was the color of the fading sunset. Her eyes were a forest green, her face hinting at some Irish lineage and freckles tracing her nose and cheeks. My first thought looking at her was _Hey look, a ginger. _Then I took a second look at her shirt. It was orange, and with my dyslexia, I couldn't make out the words on it. She wore tattered jeans that appeared to be covered in...paint, maybe? Her face was smudged with dirt, too, and my mind echoed back to what Linda had said. _Riff-raff kids at the door. _

And then I looked at the boy. He was a few inches taller than me, with dark, untamable waves. He had high cheekbones, like the Roman gods I read about in the history books. He was muscular, tanned, and gorgeous, just the kind of guy you'd see on tv. And then my eyes met his.

Grey into green.

The kind of green that was both blue like the ocean and green like the Earth. What was it called?

Seaweed-green.

I felt a chill go down my spine. Not the kind of oh-wow-this-guy-is-really-attractive chill. This boy felt familiar to me. I wasn't sure why though; I'd never seen him before in my life. I think he felt the same shiver, too, because his facial expression became something of wonder and another emotion, one I couldn't place.

"My name is Percy Jackson," he said. "This is Rachel. And we're here to talk to you about the Avengers initiative."

My face fell. The girl called Rachel slapped him on the shoulder, a playful grin spreading across her features. "Idiot!" she hissed.

"Sorry." he said, though he clearly wasn't. "The real reason we're here is because of camp. Annabeth...you're not mortal."

And that's when the shit began.


	2. Chapter 2

"How in hell do you know my name? What camp are you talking about?" I asked them suspiciously, arching one eyebrow. This could easily be some sort of joke. Play a prank on the dorky smart girl. I was easy prey.

"Uh...whitepages?" the boy, Percy, tried. Rachel rolled her eyes as if to say; _That's the best you could come up with?_

"Seriously. Do you go to my school? You friends with David or something? I haven't seen you around. This better not be some sort of sick joke-" I was growing more angry as the seconds ticked on, and it didn't help when I was cut off.

"Calm yourself, blondie." green eyes said. He looked over at his pretty redhead friend and whispered; "Definitely Athena kid. Just look at her. She reeks of smartass-ness. Getting on my nerves already."

"I can _**hear **_you." I tried for the most intimidating look I could muster, praying to god it would work. They didn't seem too intimidated, though. Redhead girl shifted her weight to her other foot, folding her arms across her chest and stepping inside the door.

"Hey, I didn't say you could come in-" She shut me up with exhuasted eyes.

"Look. I know this is probably annoying. You probably think we're some pretty weird kids, showing up at your door looking the way we do-" Rachel paused, waving her arms down at herself for emphasis. The tattered jeans, torn shirt, messy look overall. "-but please, you have to hear us out. My name is Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I'm a counsellor at a place called Camp Half-Blood, which serves as a safe haven for kids like us."

"What do you mean, kids like you?" I asked. They'd begun to peak my curiousity.

"Kids with dyslexia. ADHD. Kids that struggle in school, aren't really normal." she said, her eyes boring into mine. This girl was starting to scare me. It was like she had plucked all my information out of my mind. She continued.

"We're not really different, you and I. We're demigods."

"Demigods. Like the ones in the Greek myths. Perseus, Theseus, Heracles." I couldn't believe the nerve of these two. Trying things like this on me. What did they take me for, a dumbass?

That's when my dad stepped in. I hadn't even known he was in the room- he pushed passed me and lowered his gaze to the two kids, towering over them.

"Annabeth." he said rigidly, not looking away from the weirdos. "Go to your room. I need to talk to them."

I hesitated. "Annabeth, **go to your room**."

But I didn't go to my room. Instead, I went into the kitchen. It connected to our living room, so it would be easier to listen in.

I could only catch bits and pieces of what he said to them. "My daughter...ready for stuff like this...can't go yet...too young...won't have her doing things as...ridiculous...Chiron."

The gears in my head were spinning and whirring, coming to life with such force my head felt dizzy. Chiron. Who was Chiron? The guy in the underworld? No, no, that was Charon...Chiron...the centaur. The immortal one that trained heroes.

My dad was probably telling them off for trying to pull such a terrible prank on me. That was probably it. But something in my heart told me otherwise, like the soft whisper of the summer breeze.

_Annabeth, _it seemed to call. _things are not what they seem. Follow the trail to the sea. Calm the churning waves. _

_What are you _talking _about? _I asked my conscience, coming to the conclusion that I was going mad. But the voice inside my head was not my own. It was the voice of a woman, more mature and much older.

_Annabeth, heed the warnings. Know the signs-_

_Whatever_, I snapped back at the voice. I wanted no shit today. My spelling bee was in two hours, at six o'clock, and I had to be ready to compete against Abha. So I charged up the stairs and went to take a shower.

**ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ**

A little while later, I was dressed crisply in a dark, long-sleeved shirt and some plain old stretchy pants. I had pulled my curly, frizzy blonde hair into a tight ponytail and pulled on some sneakers. Voila. Ready to go.

Hastily, I went over the list of words, running them through my brain one last time in a desperate attempt at memorization.

Accoutrements, bellwether, coruscant, magnaanimous, nidificate, unparagoned, circumlocution, to name a few.

Yeah, I didn't feel too confident.

"Beth, you ready to go?" my step-mother asked, poking her head into my room. I nodded at her, trying for the best smile I could conjure up. She grinned back at me. "Good, because your father's waiting in the car."

"Are you coming too?" I asked. She shook her head. "I have to stay behind and watch the boys. You know how they get."

"But they're twelve years old. They can take care of themselves." I proclaimed, referring to my younger step-brothers, Matthew and Bobby. I loved them as if they were my real brothers, but my relationship with their mother wasn't the greatest. It's not so much that we didn't get along. It's more that we were so plain around each other. All these years, and I'd never really warmed up to her. I was trying to fix that by impressing her. But it was difficult.

"Between you and me," she said, her eyes shifting left and right as if to make sure no one was around. "they're not very mature. Not like you, at least."

The compliment warmed my heart. Then she ruined it.

"Though you do need to work on that as well, sweetheart, you aren't exactly mature, either. Let's go."

I was heading out to the car when I saw something out of the corner of my eye- a flash of black, and instantly my guts twisted.

"Hey, uh, dad, I think I left my list inside. I'm gonna go get it." I called out. He responded; "Hurry up!"

Instead of going back inside, I headed over to the patio in the back of the house, trying to avoid being seen by my parents. Whatever I'd seen had gone in this direction.

"Hello?" I tried. It was getting dark, and therefore, harder to see. I squinted.

Something was there, alright. It got closer. I'd never been able to see very well without my glasses, which conveniently, were not on me at the moment. And suddenly, through the dark void, something flew at my chest.

It pinned me down to the ground, and the only thought I could process was to scream. I tried, but no sound came out. I struggled against whatever was holding me. I heard a strange hissing sound, and when I looked carefully, what I saw was a person.

Scratch that, definitely not a person.

It had eyes that gleamed the color of blood, and skin pale and cold as ice. The features were sharp, it's long tongue forked in the middle. I felt it's frozen breath over my neck. That's when it opened it's mouth and revealed it's pointy teeth.

There was a word for something like this.

Vampire.

I thought I was going to die. And then I heard a cry, and the creature snapped it's head around, launching itself off of me and attacking another humanoid figure. I recognized the frizzy red hair and petite form as the girl from earlier, the one called Rachel.

"Die, you pathetic asshole!" she screamed at it. Out of her pocket, she pulled what appeared to be a knife, and she thrust it into the creature's neck. It shrieked, and I covered my ears in terror. A few seconds later, it was gone.

"You okay, blondie?" Rachel asked, walking towards me. I was shaking. My vision was out of focus. Slowly I stood up.

"W-what was that?" She looked down at the ground and sighed.

"It's called a Mormo. Vampirish monster from beyond the grave, pulled right out of the Greek myths. Used to serve as the minions of Hecate, draining the blood of unsuspecting victims." Rachel recited.

"Now do you believe us?" Jackson was back, walking out from the path that led to the front of the house, his arms folded across his chest, a cocky grin adorning his features.

I nodded absently.

"Annabeth!" a frenzied cry from my dad, who came stumbling into the backyard. "Oh my gods, tell me she's okay. I heard a cry, and I-"

"That was me." Rachel said, waving it off. "Guilty as charged. Little blondie here didn't make a sound as the blood-sucking demon tried to devour her whole."

My dad stared open-mouthed at me. He slowly wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me into his chest.

"My poor, poor Annabeth." he mumbled into my hair. "I'm so sorry. I should have told you sooner."

No. My dad was not about to tell me they were right.

This was all a dream.

No.

_**No.**_

"You're not human, Beth." he said, pulling away to look me in the eye. I shook my head slowly.

"Dad...no, don't you dare. Don't you dare tell me they were right. They're the riff-raff kids, remember? Class-skippers...they...none of this is real. This is some sort of reality television show. It's not happening. It's a prank, don't you see?"

My dad had a single tear streaking his cheek. He smiled wistfully at me.

"No. It isn't. This is real, Annabeth. Dreadfully real. And I'm so, so sorry...sorry...I'm sorry you have to know this..."

Percy stepped closer to us, tugging at my shoulder.

"Look, Annabeth, kid, whatever you want to go by. You need to come with us, or what just happened is going to happen again. And next time, we might not be around to save you. Do you want that?" he asked, a fierce look on his face.

I shook my head again.

"Then you need to go with us. You have _no choice_. It's life or death."

In the moments before the collapse, I felt like someone had pulled the world from underneath my feet. My mind was spinning, my thoughts reeling, my head exploding with pain and confusion.

**ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ**

And everything went black.

**ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ**

When I reopened my eyes, I was somewhere else. A white ceiling, big room. Lightwood floor. I was lying on a bunk. The front of my head was pounding. I raised my hand in front of my face.

It was blurry, but slowly came into focus. And then I noticed the girl at my side.

Rachel.

"Hey, sleeping beauty woke up." she joked weakly. "I hope you're feeling okay...I know I wasn't, the first time I showed up here. Had a broken leg. Not fun. I think you got off pretty lucky, though. Just a bad concussion, and that was only because you fainted. I fed you some ambrosia, so you should be fine in a little bit."

I didn't look at her, instead looking into space and trying to process everything that had happened.

"Look. You're going to need to toughen up a little bit if you want to survive here at camp. We demigods- we're pretty strong. Not just physically. Mentally. We have to be strong in order to survive. Otherwise the weirdness of it all would just be too much and who knows? Maybe we'd all go crazy. But you're one of us, so you've gotta have some of it in you. You're a half-blood. We're designed for batshit crazy stuff."

I still didn't answer.

She sighed. "I can't make you talk to me, blondie. But you're going to have to eventually. We all do at some point. Chiron's waiting for you in the Big House. He's the leader of our little camp here. He'll show you the ropes, teach you the basics, make everything a little more clear. Just holler if you need anything, okay?"

And with that, she moved to get up.

A little while later, I was able to sit up in bed. My head felt lighter. My vision was better. I still had a throbbing headache, though. At some point, Percy came back to check on me, another girl following his lead. She was tall, with short black hair and electric blue eyes.

They sat on the bunk beside me.

"If this is all true," I said slowly, directing my words towards Percy. "Then whose son are you?"

He laughed, shifting in his spot. The girl smirked at me, a kind of look an adult gives to a young and unknowing child. Somewhere inside of me, my blood began to boil. I didn't like being treated like a child.

"He's the son of Poseidon." she said. "And before you ask, I'm Thalia. The daughter of Zeus."

I looked up at the ceiling. "That Zeus?"

Thalia nodded. "That Zeus."

I stared at them for a little bit.

"This is all going way too fast for me."

"Get used to it." Percy said. He rose from his bunk, extending his hand towards me. "Let's go, blondie. Gotta introduce you to Chiron."

"But what about my dad?"

"Please hold all questions till the end." the Thalia girl said in mock-politeness. "They will be answered in due time." Percy stifled a laugh.

I rose from my spot, still feeling weak, and followed them out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

My first few days at the camp were a whirlwind of confusion and shock.

After introducing me to Chiron, Percy proceeded to get me my schedule. I felt the heat rush to my face when I saw that I would have swords classes with him, from anger, infatuation, or embrassment, I wasn't sure.

I almost fainted again when I first saw Chiron's lower parts. Hooves, white stallion body...but with the top of a man. It was the freakiest thing. He told me my dad was safe, back home in Pennsylvania. My father couldn't cross the border because he was mortal. When I asked where I was, he told me I was in New York.

I was already homesick.

They put me in the Hermes cabin, where most unclaimed kids got to stay. But I'm pretty sure everyone was thinking the same thing. _Athena kid. _I mean, when I saw the others, and how much they looked and acted like me, I knew it was probably true. It was kind of exciting to have half-siblings. Sure, Matt and Bobby were my brothers. But not biologically. Just through marriage.

They said my mother would claim me soon. But here I am, almost a week later, still waiting.

It was weird, knowing my mother was actually alive and well and a_ freaking goddess _when I'd been told distinctly as a child that she had died in childbirth and I was lucky to have survived. For a little while, I was kind of upset at my dad for lying to me. But like most other parents of demigods, he was just looking out for me.

I wondered what Abha was doing right now. If she wondered why I hadn't shown up to the spelling bee. Why I'd missed a week of school.

If only she knew.

So far, I didn't have very many friends at camp. Rachel counted, I guess. Maybe that Thalia girl, she was kind of nice to me, even though I hadn't liked her at first. And that one boy who helped me notch an arrow yesterday, even if I wasn't the best at archery and could have possibly taken his eye out.

I wasn't the best in swords class, either. Unfortunately, that complete and utter kelp brain Percy whooped my ass. Rachel told me he's been at camp a long time though, and I shouldn't feel bad.

We were sitting in an open space near the rock called Zeus' Fist. It was a pretty area, reminded me a bit of the parks we had back home. The grass was really soft and green, too, and I took a moment to really appreciate the environment.

"How long?" I asked her. She smiled swiftly and replied; "About ten years."

I blinked. Once, twice. Three times. "Ten...years? Does he go to school?"

She shook her head. "Not many of us do, anymore. Being the child of a major god, well, it isn't safe. Maybe you could get by as a Hecate kid, or a Morpheus camper...but people like us, we don't make it very far."

"Monsters." I said quietly. She nodded.

"How long have you been here?" I wondered aloud. Subconsciously or consciously, Rachel started to finger the beads on her leather necklace. I counted them. Seven. She opened her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it.

"Nevermind, I just answered my own question."

"Nice job, blondie. Observing your surroundings for solutions to problems. You'll need that on quests, if you ever get one." she said, her hand dropping from her necklace. "Anyways, I met Percy when I showed up with these two other kids, a pair of Demeter twins, Bonnelyn and Veronica. They were the ones to rescue me from my mundane life." Rachel said sarcastically.

I tried for a small smile.

"They were my first friends here at camp. I was in the Hermes cabin for a long time, about two years, before my dad claimed me."

"Apollo." I said.

She grit her teeth. Her whole external energy changed. She went from happy to...whatever this was. Clearly, she had some daddy issues. "Yeah, Apollo."

I was going to say something, maybe ask when she thought I'd get claimed, but then someone came stumbling over. I recognized the girl from my Greek classes. She was on the shorter side, with olive-dark skin, long, braided black hair, and Italian features.

"Bianca," Rachel started, rising from her spot on the bench we'd been sitting on. "What's wrong?"

"Chiron told me to come get you. Something's wrong with May!"

"May?" I asked. Rachel ignored me, taking off after Bianca. I didn't know what else to do. So I followed them.

They ran all the way to the Big House, which was pretty far. By the time we got there, I'd had an eye-opening experience and realized for the first time just how unathletic I was. I was far too out of breath.

Standing on the porch was an older blonde lady. Older than most half-bloods here at camp. She was kneeling over herself, her hand on the porch railing to keep herself steady. She look like she'd been sucker-punched or something.

"The sea," she rasped. "the owl, the crime she must pay for! _The owl's daughter will feel the wrath of the sea god!_"

"What? What is she talking about?" Rachel asked worriedly. For the first time, I noticed the tall blonde boy standing next to the woman whom I assumed was May. Luke Castellan, counsellor for Hermes. Thalia's boyfriend, I recalled.

"Mom, please." Luke pleaded. "What are you talking about?"

Her head snapped up, and I almost screamed. Her eyes were a bright green, unnatural green. Misty and glazed over. Rachel put her hand on my shoulder to calm me down. By now, a small crowd of campers were assembling around the steps to the house. I recognized Percy as being one of them.

Then something really creepy happened. May looked at me. Right at me. And she hurdled over, gripping me tightly by the shoulders. Her mouth hung open and she was making creepy wheezing sounds. I didn't know what to do. Luke moved to help me, but then it May started.

"_Go forth and find the sea to be tainted,_

_see into the past and have your record unsainted._

_Learn the truth and lose one you call a friend._

_And fail to see the most important thing, in the end." _

And then her grip on my shoulders loosened. Her eyes faded out to a pale blue instead of a scary green. Her hands fell to her sides. Her wheezing stopped. And she fainted.

Luke caught her, crying out. "Take her to the infirmary," Chiron said. "she'll be fine."

Someone grabbed my shoulder again and spun me around. I was met with seaweed-green eyes all over again. This time, however, they were angry.

"That prophecy. What May said. What in hell did you do to my father? What does she mean, _crime you must pay for_?" I hadn't seen this side of Percy before. I had no idea what was going on. Just as I was getting used to camp, this happened.

"I-I don't know what she's talking about!" I tried. He only looked angrier.

"Listen to me. I don't know who you are. I don't know why you're here, or what that was about. But if you did something to my father, you _**will **_pay."

"Percy! Lay off her!" Rachel said, roughly shoving him away from me. They launched themselves into another arguement. "Stop!" I said. "Please, stop fighting!"

They ignored me. And suddenly, Rachel gasped. She was pointing at me. For a moment, I almost saw the ghost of a smile on her face. Percy's face fell.

"What?" I asked.

Chiron cantered closer to us, kneeling as best he could with a horse's body. "Hail, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom, war, and the useful crafts."

I looked up just in time to see it fading away- the grey mark above my head. An owl.

The symbol of Athena.

Rachel knealt, and Percy reluctantly followed her lead. The stay campers around the steps kneeled. I'd finally been claimed.

That's when Chiron stood and came closer to me, pulling me into the Big House. "Percy. Rachel. Come."

**ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ**

A little while later, we were all seated in Chiron's office. A warm fireplace, cozy chairs. It would have been nice, had it not been for the creepy looks I was getting from that son of Poseidon.

"Congratulations, Annabeth." Chiron said, as if to ease the tension.

"Thank you." I replied awkwardly, and coughed.

"That prophecy." Percy started. "The churning seas. What does it mean, Chiron?"

The older centaur clasped his hands together, looking down. It was kind of weird, because he wasn't sitting in a chair. Rather, he was just standing behind his desk. It would take a long time to get used to that.

"Poseidon is angry." he finally said. Slowly, as if to try every word individually.

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel, my dear, I wish I could answer that. What I can tell you is that a quest is needed. Annabeth will be the one to lead it."

Percy rose from his place like a rocket. "What? Chiron, she's been at camp for literally only a few days. How can you expect her to lead it? She has no experience, can't fight, she's weak-"

"That's why you're going with her." the centaur said briskly, and my mouth fell open. "You, Percy, are one of the best swordsmasters we've had in many millenia. Your strength is bountiful, and that's why Annabeth will need you. With a combination of her intelligence and your prowess, this quest will be a success. You will need assisstance, however." he looked at Rachel.

"M-me?" she stuttered out. "I've never...haven't been assigned a quest...really?" Her jaded green eyes were wide with shock.

"You'll need to pack plenty of nectar and ambrosia. Take extra precaution with Annabeth. Percy, as a son of Poseidon, the path will unravel much faster. You will be able to see the signs when needed. Follow the trail to the sea. Calm the sea god. Do whatever is needed to stop him- he's been creating hurricanes and floods all along the east coast."

Percy was quiet. Instead of answering Chiron, he turned away and walked out the door, slamming it behind him. I wanted to throw something. He was so infuriatingly obnoxious!

Chiron looked back to Rachel and I, ignoring that little scene.

"You leave in three days time. Annabeth, practice with swords. You'll need it. Get some sleep. Learn as much as you possibly can. This could very well be a dangerous quest."

And with that, he left the room, leaving the redhead and I in a heavy silence.


	4. Chapter 4

**Bit of a filler chapter, but it's something! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far, it really means a lot to me and I strongly appreciate it. Hope you enjoy!**

A few hours had passed since the awkward moment in Chiron's study/office. After Chiron had galloped away in his odd little horse body, Rachel had risen from her spot and accompanied me to my cabin, said hello to some of my siblings, and had been on her way.

So far, my siblings were an interesting batch. There were only a handful, give or take a little. Some of them were absent from camp, alternatively going to school as mortal kids.

Currently at camp, however, there was Gilbert Fraser, a boy with a faint Brooklyn accent who'd been raised with a can-do attitude. His father was a physicist at the ASRC in NYC, so that was pretty interesting. Then there was Kara (whose last name I forgot) who'd lived an exciting life as the daughter of a bestselling author, travelling around the world with him. Candora Kilpatrick was another one, though she was extremely introverted and referred to me only as "the new kid". She's the oldest, the counsellor of the entire cabin. I think she said she was nineteen.

Knowing that I had half-siblings that I'd never known about was exhilirating and a little overwhelming. They all looked like me, that was sure. Though a lot more athletic, and with better tans and complexions, and glossier hair, which kind of made me feel like a piece of coal among a bunch of diamonds, if that analogy makes any sense to you.

It was dark out, around what I assumed to be six or seven at night. I'd been given the stuff my dad left me to have at camp, the basic necessities- some everyday clothes, my worn pair of sneakers, deoderant, etcetera. You get the gist, right? Anyways, Chiron had excused me from going to the campfire for today. Give me a little time to take everything in. The claiming, the prophecy.

The prophecy! I can't put into words what that felt like, hearing those creepy words come out of that woman, May Castellan. Having her clutch my shoulders and hiss and, god (or gods, is that a thing now? I have to say gods instead of god? That'll take some getting used to) I just can't believe that actually happened. It was a scary moment. Possibly the scariest moment of my entire life. Even worse then the time I fell flat on my face in front of an auditorium of students during my seventh grade "Moving Up Day" ceremony.

It was driving me nuts, wondering what those words meant.

_"...find the sea to be tainted...see into the past and have your record unsainted..."  
_

Unsainted. I think from the context it means something like unsanctified, I'm not really sure. But it doesn't sound too great. And the tainted sea? Not too great, either. According to that jerk, the Jackson guy or whatever (cocky son of a bitch), his father didn't get on too well with my mother. Fantastic. He's jocky enough, but now he has a reason to hate me. Though it's a bit of an invalid reason, but it's a reason nonetheless.

I didn't want to think too much because it would just stress me out. But me being my over-analytic self, I had to think about it. And think. And think. So much that my brain felt like mush.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the rapping at the cabin door.

_Someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. _

Edgar Allen Poe. Figures my brain would go to something like that. (In case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit scatter-brained.)

When I opened it, I found myself face-to-face with a pair of accusing green eyes. Percy Jackson, of course. Just my luck.

His eyebrows were arched defiantly, features fixed in a scowl.

"Your face will freeze that way if you aren't careful, seaweed brain."

"Seaweed brain?" the grumpy look on his face fell quickly. "Where the hell did you get that from?"

I stared at him, trying to project a look that said _are you freaking kidding me. _A few seconds passed. One. Two. Three. Four. Finally, it clicked. His eyebrows flew into his hair.

"In that case, I think I'll call you olive tree. It's only fair we have embarassing nicknames for each other, right? Mmm. Olive tree. Has a nice ring to it."

"Kind of bland in my opinion. But I guess it's pretty good, coming from you and all. It could have been a lot worse." I roll my eyes for emphasis, trying my best to make him feel like a moron. "Anyways, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the campfire with everyone else?"

"Actually, I thought I'd stop by your cabin and hurl a few jabs at you for fun. It's nice picking on you."

"Jackson, your arrogance is clearly built on low self-esteem. Your little insults don't faze me." He leans forward a little, his eyes squinting a tiny bit, piercing into mine. I cross my arms over my chest, trying to feel more comfortable in the thick tension.

"Seriously, though. I'm here to warn you about that quest. I don't think you realize what you're getting yourself into. We don't even know if you're the one that's supposed to go-"

"Mrs. Castellan said it was a daughter of Athena. And I find it pretty convenient that my mother claimed me just as the prophecy was spoken."

"Well, that's true." Percy says, pulling a little further away from me. "But still, you're not trained. You're a newbie. You could get killed. It's crazy enough that you've survived this long without training."

"Hey, at least I survived on my own. That should prove I have a strong will."

"It proves nothing. You were just lucky." he snarls. "I've been at this camp since I could toddle. Do you know what it's like, getting close to people and watching them die, year after year after year? You're not experienced enough. You'll die. I know what I'm saying. You won't last _**five minutes **_out there."

His wording is little ominous, and I get a chill up my spine and down my arms. Suddenly everything feels wrong. Maybe I shouldn't be leaving on this quest. I look down at my feet, crossing my arms against my chest a little tighter.

"Maybe you should go." is my quiet response. Jackson's face softens, and I think he realizes how harsh he just sounded.

"Annabeth, I'm sorry-"

"Go, please." I say, and close the door.

Maybe he's right. Maybe I can't handle being out there.


	5. Chapter 5

**First of all, I would like to apologize on behalf of my readers- you guys are the best, and I am sosososososo sorry this took so long, but the waiting paid off because it's finally here! I hope you guys enjoy it, and look forward to more updates soon! :) **

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

I was never the kind to panic in a delicate situation. I have always been calm and steady; like a tree in the wind, I stand tall and proud, and I do not let myself fall.

But this week was like a psychopathic lumberjack that came out of nowhere- it cut me down, and I let it happen because I was taken off guard. I can't let it happen again.

I take four deep breaths, in and out, in and out. That's all I allow myself. Freaking out is a luxury I can't afford. In four hours- _**four hours **_-I will be out in the wild with an asshole and a girl I'm not entirely sure I can trust, fighting for my survival in a battle that pits man and myth.

I didn't ask for this life. I didn't ask for any of it. If I had a choice, then I would not have been whisked away to a mysterious camp as I was a week ago. I would have attended the school spelling bee, competed against Abha, and received second place. I would have gone home with my father and step-mother, watched mindless television, and gone to bed. And I would have gotten up the next morning and gone to school with a messy head of untamed hair and dark gray eyebags as my only accessory.

Fate doesn't take kindly to me.

I am startled by a sudden presence in front of me, and I snap my head up with a yelp as I am met face to face with my half-brother Gilbert. He has to be at least six feet tall; he's towering over me even as I raise myself to my feet. His hair is blonde, like mine, and his eyes are gray, also like mine. I feel like I'm part of a matched set, one that I never knew existed until now. At least we have different facial features to distinguish us from our clone siblings.

"Gilbert! I, um...hello?" I try, and inwardly curse myself for being so awkward. I have never fit in properly with other kids my age; it never clicked.

"Hey, Beth-can I call you that? Yes? Okay good-anyways, Beth, that _sea spawn _stopped by earlier, he was looking for you. Said something about meeting him and the redhead in the center of camp. He sounded really ticked off."

The thought of Percy and the argument we had earlier flashes through my mind. I've seen him since then, but it still feels weird thinking about him after what he said to me.

I groan and facepalm. "Thanks, Gilbert..."

Gilbert raises an eyebrow at me, and I wave a hand, dismissing him. He stands in front of me a second longer but eventually trots off.

I survey the other inhabitants of the Athena cabin- two more showed up last night, a boy and a girl, who are full siblings. The girl is deadly smart, though I wonder how the boy can even be related to her. He's wild, like a hurricane, and she's more like a composed ocean, from what I can tell. They stand out from the rest of us, with black hair and tanned skin. The girl has pretty green eyes full of emotion. The boy looks like her, but there are different features. His seem sharper, somehow.

Gilbert says that our mother, the great goddess Athena, has sleek, beautiful black hair. The girl and boy inherited that trait. I wish I had.

They aren't new like I am. Rather, they only visit during certain times of the year, and their names are Prada and Vinny. That's really all I know.

Prada looks over at me with a shady glance, and I immediately get the feeling that she doesn't like me. Vinny doesn't really seem to care about my random appearance; he accepts me as one of the Athena kids and moves on with his life.

"Well," I say, stretching my arms and sighing loudly, "-I'm going to go get ready."

No one bats an eye at me.

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

After I'm dressed, I am just another luckless demigod in the crowd. Orange shirt, jean shorts, sneakers. It's like a uniform, but less organized.

I throw my knapsack over my shoulder and get moving. It isn't long before I see a blurry mess of black and red- Percy and Rachel.

"You're late." Percy snarls. Rachel rolls her eyes at him, and I see her elbow collide with his ribcage.

"Don't listen to him. Look, sorry for the early call. I tried to let you sleep in as much as possible. But I figured, hey, few hours before the quest, might as well teach the newbie something about camp, right? So we're going to snag some breakfast, and I'll formally introduce you to some of our friends. We only have fifteen minutes for that though. Then afterwards we head directly to the armoury- no stopping, and-"

"She talks a lot when she's nervous, can you tell?" Percy jokes, and looks at me with mischievous yet affront eyes.

I laugh and nod; "Yeah, it's kind of obvious." I'm just surprised that he bothered to talk to me at all.

Rachel sighs exasperatedly. "Can we just go?"

A little while later we're seated in front of Thalia, her boyfriend Luke, another girl who seems kind of familliar, and a guy with horns on his head.

I learn their names as we chat and make sure to tuck them away in the back of my head for safekeeping. Thalia and Luke I already know. Bianca and Grover are the other two.

Bianca stays mostly quiet the entire time, covering her head with her hands. I recognize her now. She was the one that ran to get Rachel when Luke's mother received the prophecy. She's small, but quick.

"What's wrong with her?" I ask Rachel in a whisper. She looks down and then responds; "Her little brother died two months ago in a really bad questing accident. She hasn't been the same since."

_Can you blame her? _I want to say, but the words die in my throat as I look at the quiet girl. The Satyr boy, Grover, sits beside her, just as silent.

"Soooo." Thalia says, folding her arms over the table. "Athena kid. I saw you when you first showed up at camp, but I haven't really gotten to know you." she looks at her nails- they're painted black -and then back to me with a placid smirk on her face.

She looks sideways at Luke, who seems bored, and nudges him in the shoulder. "Whadd'you think, Luke?"

He looks at me. Suddenly I'm under a microscope, like I am in gym class when David and his friends are picking on me. He stares me down for a long while.

He curls his lip. "I think she fits right in with her cabin."

Thalia and Percy burst into immediate laughter, and Luke furrows his eyebrows. "What? That wasn't even funny. C'mon, guys, what are you laughing at?"

Rachel looks at Luke sharply, saying something with her eyes, something I can't understand. Luke seems to respond in the same manner. It's like they talk with their eyes. I don't speak their language.

Luke nods, and slumps back down. Thalia glances at him and he glances back. I feel like I'm missing something.

"Sorry for laughing," Thalia says. "It's just-"

"Just what?" I ask defensively.

"Nevermind. You wouldn't get it."

"Why not?"

She rolls her electrically blue eyes. "Because you wouldn't, you're too stiff. End of story."

She reminds me of every girl at school, every upperclassman who has ever made fun of me or my friends. If I don't do something right now, she'll think she has the right of way, the right to pick on me and treat me like an inferior.

_I can't let myself fall. _

My jaws goes tight and I say something that isn't normally in my vocabulary: "_Bitch_."

She freezes. "What the fuck did you just call me?"

"Thals, calm down, okay?" Luke puts a hand on her shoulder, trying to hold her back. She stands up slightly, her fists pounding the table.

_I can't let myself fall._

The bubble in my chest grows bigger, tighter. "I didn't ask for this life, okay? First I'm some normal girl and then this _shithead sea spawn_ and his friend show up-" I point at Percy and Rachel, "-and they fucking tell me I'm supposed to be some sort of _**demigod**_, and then I get dragged to this shitty camp with shitty people only to be picked for a shitty quest and now I have to put up with _your attitude_? Fuck you and this entire camp. I am so done."

Bianca's eyes are wide, and Grover just looks at me with- is that approval? -in his eyes. Luke is going paler than he already is, and Thalia is the opposite- she's turning red. I can almost see the smoke coming out of her ears.

"You little piece of shit," Thalia starts. She gives me a look that's absolutely terrifying. Black eyeliner, piercingly blue eyes, goth clothes, and her attitude make the expression worse than it would normally be.

She goes off on a tangent, spewing so many obscenities it's sickening, and I am so tired that I get up and walk away.

I just walk away.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going? I'm not done talking to you-"

"Save it for someone who cares!" I call back. I feel like I've won, somehow. I hear footsteps, but they don't sound angry enough to be her.

Someone puts their hand on my shoulder, and when I turn around, it's Grover.

"That was cool." he says and grins. I raise an eyebrow. "It was?"

He nods. "No one stands up to Thalia like you did back there. Major respect points earned. I mean, I get that you must hate it here. I mean, honestly, I don't know the feeling. I've lived here all my life. I was born in the forest surrounding this camp. But I can try to understand. And looking at it from your point of view, I can't blame you for blowing up."

"So...you don't hate me?"

"The others don't either. Except for maybe Thalia. I won't lie about that. She doesn't like people that try to one-up her. I think they're just in awe right now. So...can we be friends?"

I take it in, and then I nod, and thank him. He said the others are in awe of me, but at the moment, _I'm_ the one in awe.

"You want to know something?" I ask him.

He looks up at me with shy brown eyes, and I continue.

"You're the only one in this gods damn camp who's bothered to treat me like a human being. So thanks, for that."

He smiles, and I feel like I actually have some support now.

Before he can say anything else, I see Percy jog over to us.

"Annabeth," he starts, "-uh, we uh," he stumbles and looks anywhere but at me. When he finally focuses his eyes on mine, I see that he looks almost...nervous.

"We should go. On the quest." he spurts out.

"Already? I thought we had a few ho-"

"We should go now, I think. Thalia's on a rampage and Rachel and I decided there isn't much to see here anyways. Luke's going to tell Chiron we're leaving, so...we should go. Now."

I look at the ground in front of me and nod numbly. Rachel comes trotting over.

I say goodbye to Grover, and that's about it. I already have my knapsack so I don't need to go back to my cabin. This is really it.

Percy says goodbye to some of his siblings in the Poseidon cabin, and Rachel to her siblings as well.

I look up at the sky while I wait. Now that I know all the Greek myths are true, all the poems that personificate the moon make sense now.

Percy and Rachel come back, and I notice them holding hands in the darkness, sneaking glances at each other. Percy says a few words and looks back at the camp ominously, like he's never going to see it again.

And then we leave.


End file.
